End Play

Tim Burstall's film "End Play" has a running time of just eighty minutes. Watching it on DVD, this film seemed to last twice as long. It was slow, ponderous, and in no way did this film live up to the blurb on the back cover which stated, and I quote: "End Play" is a gripping, Hitchcockian-style thriller about a serial killer." end quote. Nothing could be further from the truth. "End Play" is far from being 'gripping' Nor I might add, was it 'thrilling' at least as most people understand the word. However, it is a film about a serial killer. The plot has more red herrings than a fish shop. The acting is either wooden (John Waters), or over the top (George Mallaby), depending on who was on screen. The dialogue was often ludicrous. The music was insignificant. And the ending was straight out of an episode of "Murder, She Wrote." All in all, "End Play" was the longest eighty-minute film I've ever watched.